Bonnaroo kicks off today. In fact, at this precise moment, music-lovers anticipating one of the best weekends of their respective summers are pitching their tents and working out which bands they’ll see tonight. I remember this feeling. I went to Bonnaroo last year and had such a blast that I got passes for this year’s festival, as well. Unable to make the trip at the last minute, I am living vicariously through festival-goers, flipping through their Facebook photos as they roll into my news feed. The photos will chronicle the fun they’ll inevitably be have. If you’re gearing up for the next few days of Bonnaroo, here’s a little run-down of things you should know before you go. This will help you to get a little more acquainted with the festival before it swings into full gear and, with any luck, it will increase the chances of you having a smooth and stress-free experience.

Bonnaroo. Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival takes place every year in Manchester, Tennessee. It’s held at Great Stage Park and this year’s festival is #10 for Bonnaroo. The term ‘bonnaroo’ originated in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans a slang interpretation of the French words ‘bon’ (good) and ‘rue’ (street), which translated to “the best on the streets” in New Orleans. The term was popularized by Dr. John with his 1974 album Destively Bonnaroo. Bonnaroo has invested its resources since the beginning in sustainability and for this reason, it is one of the most Earth-friendly music festivals out there. The festival drew in roughly 75,000 fans last year, most of them having traveled to the festival.

Tickets. Tickets are sold out. If you don’t have a ticket, you’re not going. Start saving up for next year’s festival.

Alcohol. No glass containers or kegs are allowed on the premises of Bonnaroo. No outside alcohol is allowed inside of the What Stage Venue or Centeroo.

Grilling. Grilling is permitted, but only with small grills and camping stoves.

Fires. Absolutely no open fires are allowed.

Gas. There is no gas available on the festival grounds, so make sure you fill your tank before entering the festival.

Pets. No pets, none at all.

Re-entry. No vehicles can leave the grounds before 9pm Friday night and expect to re-enter. If you do leave Friday and expect to re-enter, then you must depart from either the East or West Tollbooth. You will only be allowed to leave and re-enter once during the festival.

Day parking. Those parking just for the day may only enter and depart through the West Tollbooth.

Leaving on foot. Patrons are permitted to leave on foot if they are scanned out by the East or West Tollbooth.

Wristband. Do not put it on before you get to the festival. Period.

ADVICE

Be neighborly! Bonnaroo is a friendly place–embrace it.

Schedule music-seeing carefully. You won’t be able to see everything you want to see, just know that and prepare for that.

Have a shade-solution. It will be difficult to find shade for certain shows, so come with a parasol or sun hat at least.

Bring cash and avoid ATM fees.

For every alcoholic beverage you consume, consume a glass of water. This is a good rule of thumb in general, but especially when you’re outside in the heat all day. Bonnaroo has seen its share of alcohol or drug-related deaths–take care of yourself.

THINGS TO BRING

Spare set of keys

Reusable water bottle

Plenty of sunblock, a sun hat, a sun umbrella, whatever you need to combat the sun and heat.

The time for music festivals is sneaking upon us and Bonnaroo is one of the top festivals
every summer. Bonnaroo takes place in Manchester, Tennessee every June. Multiple stages host both mainstream and emerging bands. Artists set up shop throughout the Bonnaroo grounds. Delicious local and organic food is served. And, alas, a giant mushroom spitting water acts as a cleansing landmark for all Bonnaroo attendees. The mushroom fountain takes a different form each year, sometimes sporting neon colors and sometimes more simple colors, but no matter what, it’s something you can’t miss at Bonnaroo.

This photo of the Bonnaroo fountain was shot during Bonnaroo 2010 by photographer Ben Britz. Want us to feature one of your photos for photo of the day? Upload your shots to the Gadling Flickr Pool.

Nearly two years ago, I bought my first smartphone: the T-Mobile Android MyTouch*. I’m only occasionally jealous of my iPhone-carrying friends, as I find few travel guide apps for Android. Even after a move to Istanbul, I still use and rely upon it daily; Android‘s interface is fast and easy-to-use, and seamless use of Google applications like Gmail and Google Maps is part of the reason I bought it in the first place. Living in a foreign country means English-language books and magazines are expensive and hard-to-find, and like many travelers, I don’t want to carry bulky books around when I’m on the road. This leaves a perfect opportunity for mobile developers to provide real travel guide content and not just travel-booking apps, especially apps produced by reliable media sources with professional editorial. These days, every guidebook and travel magazine publisher is coming out with apps for the iPhone and now iPad, supplying users with content and directions on the go, but there are hardly any for Android.

So what’s available for mobile travelers from the top travel book and print sources? Better hope you’re running Apple OS…Guidebooks:

Fodor’s: Happy 75th Birthday Mr. Fodor, but we wish you had more than just five city guides for purchase (in London, New York, Paris, Rome, and San Francisco) and only for Apple.

Frommer’s: iPhone guides are available for ten major cities in the US, Europe and Asia, but nada for Android.

Lonely Planet: iPhone users are spoiled for choice: dozens of city guides, language phrasebooks, audio walking tours, and eBooks optimized for the iPad. Android users in 32 countries including the US are in luck: there’s a free Trippy app to organize itinerary items, as well as 25 “augmented reality” Compass city guides and 14 phrasebooks. NOTE: This article originally mentioned that the Compass guides were unavailable in the Android Market store, but they should work for most US users. I happen to be in a country where paid apps are not available and not shown in the Market.

LUXE City Guides: 20 cheeky city guides work for a variety of mobile phones, including iPhone and Blackberry, but none are compatible with my Android. Bonus: the apps come with free regular updates and maps that the paper guides don’t have.

Rick Steves: If you are headed to Europe, you can get audio guides for many big attractions and historic walks for iPhone, plus maps for the iPad. You can also download the audio files free for your computer, and props to Rick for mentioning that Android apps are at least in development.

Rough Guides: Here’s a new one: the Rough Guides app works for many phones but NOT the iPhone OR Android! It’s not as slick as some of the other guides (it’s a Java app) and you will use data to use it on the road, but it provides lots of info for many cities in Europe. You can also find a Rough Guides photo app on iTunes to view pictures from around the world with Google Maps and captions from Rough Guides.

Time Out: City travelers and residents might want to look at the apps from Time Out for 5 European cities and Buenos Aires, with Manchester and New York on the way. More cities are available for free on iTunes, search for Time Out on iTunes to see what’s available. iPhone only.

Wallpaper* City Guides: 10 of the design mag’s 80 city guides are for sale for iPhone for Europe, Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles.

Print media:

Conde Nast Traveler: It makes sense for magazines to embrace the iPad, and CNT has free Apple apps specifically for Italy, cruises, and their annual Gold List of hotels and resorts. Blackberry users can download an etiquette guide, but Android users are snubbed.

National Geographic: As befitting any explorer, Nat Geo has a world atlas, national parks maps, and games featuring their amazing photography, all for iPhone. A special interactive edition of National Geographic Traveler is for sale on the iPad; you can also read it on your computer. Androids can download a quiz game and various wallpapers; and all mobile users can access a mobile-friendly version of their website at natgeomobile.com.

Outside: Adventure travelers can purchase and read full issues on the iPad, but no subscription option yet.

Travel + Leisure: The other big travel glossy also has an iPad app for special issues. Four issues have been released so far with one available now on iTunes (romantic getaways) but future editions will follow to be read on the app. Just in time for spring break and summer, they’ve also released a Travel + Leisure Family app with advice and articles specifically geared towards travel and families. The apps are both free but you’ll need an iPad – these are designed for tablets, not phones. You can also read full issues of T+L and their foodie cousin Food & Wine on Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Color ereader; you can save per issue if you subscribe to the e-reader version.

USA Today Travel: Most major newspapers have mobile readers for all types of phones, but USA Today is the only one with their own travel-specific app. AutoPilot combines an array of cool travel booking capabilities and information with articles and blog post from the newspaper. Only iPhone users can enjoy free.

Two of our favorite magazines, Budget Travel and Afar, have no mobile apps yet but great online communities to tap into their extensive knowledge.

All in all, other than Lonely Planet’s Compass guides, a pretty weak showing for Android travelers. While iPhone has been around longer as a mobile platform that Android, they’ve lost the market share of users to the little green robot. As Android is available on a variety of phone manufacturers and providers, expect that number to continue to grow, along with the variety and depth of content for mobile and tablet users. Will the developers ever catch up or will travelers have to choose?

*Android has not endorsed this or paid me anything to write about them. But to show I’m not biased – Apple, feel free to send me a sample phone and I’ll test out the apps!

Sometimes, it can be pretty hard to face facts. Nobody wants to be called rude, and many destinations make great efforts to be perceived as welcoming. Well, forget what you see in the brochures and pretty PR pictures – some places are just tough.

Now, I’ve hit London and several cities in Scotland. I had no problems at all. Then again, I’m from New York and grew up in Boston, two towns with reputations for rudeness over here. So, there’s a shot I just missed it. Thankfully, The Sun picks up the trail and shows us just how rude the people of Manchester, London, Glasgow and Bristol can be.

Why is The Sun picking on these three cities? Well, it’s pretty sad, really. A 77-year-old man lay unconscious on the street for close to five hours in freezing weather. Hundreds of people walked by and gave not a damn.

Of course, this could have happened in any major city, but The Sun decided to operate in its own back yard. Let’s take a look at what the newspaper learned by leaving a reporter out on the ground in below-freezing conditions:1. Manchester: The most sympathy the reporter got here was from one woman: “I thought you were dead. Your face didn’t look good.” Meanwhile, 15 people ignored him in 13 minutes. A builder asked his friend, “Is he homeless or p***ed?” but did nothing and several shoppers stared.

2. Glasgow: At the freezing mark, a philosophy student checked to see if the reporter was breathing. Was he rude? Not at all! In fact, Marc Deane, the concerned citizen who stopped, told The Sun, “”Some people don’t want to get involved in anything out of their routine. But it’s a small price to pay if somebody’s life is at stake.”

3. London: It took six people for someone to care to roll up and say something. The rest, according to The Sun, were severe: “One man gave barely a second glance and a grunt before walking on, still chatting on his mobile. Others just looked straight through our reporter.”

4. Bristol: Like Glasgow, Bristol knows how to treat a cold-weather victim. The reporter was “picked up off the ground almost as soon as he hit.” Bravo, Bristol![pho

Are you looking for a winter wonderland for the Christmas season? New England is a natural destination. There are plenty of deals to be found, with packages that won’t force you to choose between your trip and the number of presents under the tree. Check out the inns below from New England Inns and Resorts to see for yourself what await!
1. The Stepping Stone Spa, Lyndonville, VT The Kingdom Trails Winter Adventure package at The Stepping Stone includes two nights at this bed and breakfast, daily breakfast, two adult tickets for snowshoeing or cross country skiing at Kingdom Trails and a $50 voucher for dinner at Jupiter’s Restaurant. Rates start at $157 per person, based on double occupancy, and the deal runs from December 17, 2010 to March 20, 2011.
2. The Wentworth, Jackson, NHTake a look at this property for the Jingle Bells Chocolate Tour. For a rate that starts at $208, you’ll pick up a night at the Wentworth, an hour-long sleigh ride through Jackson Village (with actual jingle bells and chocolate snacks), a four-course candlelit dinner for two and a full breakfast the next morning. The deal runs from November 27, 2010 to December 18, 2010.3. Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club, Lexington, MA Feeling the urge to hit the slopes before the end of the year? Check out the Berkshire Ski package at this property. For $140 per person midweek or $185 on the weekends, you can score a night at Cranwell Resort, unlimited cross country skiing, a $20 credit at any Cranwell restaurant and full use of the spa. The deal runs from December 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011.

4. The Beachmere Inn, Ogunquit, MERing in the new year at the Beachmere. The New Year’s Eve by the Sea package is pulled together to make the last night of 2010 memorable. The last dinner you’ll have this year includes appetizers, buffet and dessert, not to mention dancing and party favors. Start fresh with a lavish breakfast the next morning. Two-night packages range from $530 to $595, with three nights ranging from $625 to $675.
5. Inn at Ormsby Hill, Manchester, VTVisit the Inn at Ormsby Hill on the first two Saturdays in December for open tours of the inns in the Manchester area. Stay either the night of December 3, 2010 or December 10, 2010, and receive dinner in the evening, followed by a performance of “A Christmas Carol” at The Dorset Theatre. Open house tours run from noon to 4 PM the next day, with the $15 ticket price going to Habitat for Humanity. On your way home, you’ll have the chance to stop by a local nursery and pick up a Vermont Christmas tree to bring home!